Paula Poundstone, a stand-up comic since 1979, brings her act to the Granite City.

What to expect from an evening with Paula Poundstone — according to the veteran comedian herself:

"I talk about raising a house full of kids and animals," Poundstone said. "I talk about politics, but only as far as I understand it. I talk about Abe Lincoln and the Hardy Boys, but only when it seems appropriate. And so far, no one has been physically injured."

Not a bad track record considering Poundstone has been at it since 1979. And she'll try to keep that streak intact when she appears Saturday at the Paramount Theatre in downtown St. Cloud.

"I think I've been there before once or twice," Poundstone said of St. Cloud. "I seem to at least recall it as a name that's been on my calendar. I know I've been cold in Minnesota before, and I know I've seen flatness.

"Actually, I really love Minnesota. I've been lucky enough to work a lot of places there. I've been fortunate enough to occasionally do 'Prairie Home Companion' with Garrison (Keillor). So I really have a fondness for the state. And Minneapolis at least seems to have some of the nicest people in the world. Maybe it's because you guys are so close to Canada and some of that rubs off."

In addition to her stand-up shows, Poundstone has starred in multiple cable specials, as well as in her own show on HBO and, briefly, ABC.

She also is the author of 2006's "There Is Nothing in this Book That I Meant to Say" and has written for numerous magazines as well.

But she is perhaps best known these days as a regular panelist on National Public Radio's weekly news quiz show "Wait Wait ... Don't Tell Me!" where she is among those routinely grilled about current events — both mainstream and offbeat.

"It's a really fun show to do," Poundstone said. "It's unscripted — at least for the panelists. We're just lobbed topics masked as questions about that week's news. And we vie for the mantle of 'most informed.' I hold the record for most losses, of course.

"But we're encouraged to say whatever we want. Which is really a turnabout from regular showbiz. Most TV shows that you go on want to know what you're going to say ahead of time. Here, sometimes I feel like I'm in a batting cage, and I'm just swinging at things as they go by. Sometimes I swing and miss. But occasionally, I get a hit."

Of course, Poundstone has been a guest on many of the late-night talk shows — including "The Tonight Show" with both Johnny Carson and Jay Leno and "The Late Show" with David Letterman.

Leno stepped down — again — this past February to make way for Jimmy Fallon. And Letterman has announced he will depart in 2015 to be replaced by Stephen Colbert.

"It's the end of an era, I suppose," Poundstone said of Leno and Letterman's exits. "But it makes sense for them. No one can do those shows forever. I don't know how they did it as long as they did, to be honest. It's such a regimented life. It's high pressure. I'm not sure how anybody does it very long.

"Letterman, in particular, really brought a different style to that format when he started. He still had the desk and all that. But he was doing some really unique things. He's been at it for so long that we've kind of forgotten what it was like before. He was almost the anti-establishment talk show until he did it so long that he kind of became the establishment himself."

Poundstone also has been a guest with Craig Ferguson, who announced last week that he will leave CBS when his current contract to host "The Late Late Show" expires.

Ferguson was passed over in favor of Colbert when it came to naming Letterman's successor.

"I can understand why he's leaving, but he's still a younger guy, and I'm sorry to see him go," Poundstone said. "I really felt like he was bringing a lot of new stuff to that genre as well. He's just a genuinely funny guy, and I really love that."

Poundstone said she has not seen much of the new generation of late-night hosts — Fallon, Jimmy Kimmel, Colbert, etc.

"Mostly, when I'm at home, I just watch DVDs so I can skip all the commercials," she said.

But she said the late-night shows aren't as important as they once were to comedians in the days when Carson ruled the airwaves.

"There were three TV networks back then, and 'The Tonight Show' was the show for a stand-up comedian to be noticed on," Poundstone said. "That was good news and bad news. The bad news was you had one source telling you what was funny, and there were a lot more funny people out there than 'The Tonight Show' even had the capacity to host. The good news was if you did that show, the next day, you really were a household name.

"There's no place out there that really has that kind of power anymore."

Indeed, but today there are many outlets on which a comedian can get exposure to a wider audience. Including, in Poundstone's case, "Wait Wait ... Don't Tell Me!"

"That really has helped bring some new audience members to my shows," Poundstone said. "It's funny because I'll get people who have been fans for a long time and have no idea I'm doing that show. And I'll get fans who heard me on 'Wait Wait' and are surprised to hear that I also do stand-up on the side."

But stand-up is what Poundstone will be doing Saturday in St. Cloud.

"My favorite part of doing these shows is interacting with the audience," Poundstone said. "I'll do the time-honored 'Where are you from?' and 'What do you do for a living?' From that, little bios emerge, and I'll use those to take the show in any direction.

"I pay attention to the news, and I'll throw out some stuff. But I don't really know any given area well no matter where I am because I don't live there. Sometimes people think I get newspapers and do research about a place in advance. But really, most of my observations come from my drive in from the airport to the hotel, and maybe the drive from the hotel to the venue.

"And a lot of times, that's enough. I'll ask the audience a couple of questions about things I've seen, and we'll be off and running from there."

Follow Frank Rajkowski on Twitter @rajko1973.

If you go ...

What: Comedian Paula Poundstone.

When: 7:30 p.m. Saturday.

Where: Paramount Theatre, 913 St. Germain St.

Cost: Main floor: $26; front/side balcony: $26; rear balcony: $22. Tickets can be bought at www.paramountarts.org. The box office phone number is 259-5463.